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HIST 226 Revolutions in European History

Assignment

Final Research Paper/Proposal

The final assignment will ask you to select a primary source related to a Revolution of your choice.  Having chosen the primary source through a historical database/search engine you will write a proposal to explain why you selected the source and how you would incorporate the primary source to answer a historical question about your chosen Revolution or revolutionary movement.   Once you have formulated a historical question in relation to your primary source, you will research and select 5 relevant secondary sources to write your proposal.  

You will be responsible for the selection of a primary source (November 9), an outline with an annotated bibliography (November 25), and a short presentation of your findings on the last week of class.  In order to receive a grade on your final paper you need to complete all these steps.

Fishing for Sources

How is searching for primary sources like fishing?

Engaging with Your Source

The "5 W's + How + So What?" approach to your source

Basic Questions:

  • Who created this source? Who was the intended audience?
  • What type of source is this? What information does it contain?
  • When was it created? Does timing matter? (precursor to an event? A response to an event?)
  • Where was it created/published/circulated? 
  • Why was it created? What was its purpose?
  • How was it created? How might people have used/encountered it? 

Critical Questions:

  • What's NOT in this source? Whose voices are missing?
  • What assumptions does the creator make?
  • What can this source tell us about the time period?
  • How does this source connect to other sources or the larger context?
  • What questions does this source raise that I'd need other sources to answer?

So What Question:

  • Why does this source matter for understanding your topic?

Examples of Searching Strategies

Interested in British Suffragists

  1. Could begin search on the LSE site
  2. Find oral history collection
  3. Searched JSTOR for secondary sources on the movement

Interested in 1968 protests

  1. Browsed Europeana website for 1968 protest photographs
  2. Found image of Paris student protests
  3. Used Making the History of 1989 website to compare to later movements
  4. Searched for secondary sources on student activism

Interested in the Paris Commune 

  1. Search Gallica Library for Paris Commune
  2. limit results by date or resource type to find posters